EAST BOSTON – Alex Kolowrat poured in three goals, two in the first period, to rally Suffolk men's hockey to a 5-3, season-opening victory against Nichols Sunday afternoon at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 5 | Nichols 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (1-0-0) | Nichols (0-1-0)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
A chipping opening sequence put Suffolk on a power play just 2:04 into its 2020-21 season. The Rams, who would be on the man-up opportunity for the next five minutes with Nichols' whistled for a major, took advantage when Kolowrat found the back of the net at the for the first time on the day at the 3:30 minute mark with help from Griffin Clark and Billy Roche.  

Suffolk's chances got even better two minutes later when another Bison headed to the penalty box. Just 25 seconds into the 5-on-3 the same Rams' threesome worked together to tact add to the edge. Kolowrat's stick pocked in the puck with Clark and Roche assisting. 

The two-goal game stood still until the final 30 seconds of the opening period when Nichols' Nate Foster sliced the gap in half. Lucas Andersson and Philip Bjorkman aided to the Bison's first marker of the year that sent the game into the first intermission at 2-1, Suffolk. 

Neither team was able to punch through in the middle period until the final two minutes. At the 18:21 minute mark Kolowrat completed his natural hat trick to reinstate a two-goal lead, 3-1. This time the sophomore scored with set-ups from Peter Nugent and Ryan Donnelly. 

That cushion was short lived as Hunter Fraser responded for the Bison 59 seconds later and the Rams head into the locker rooms for the second time up one, 3-2. 

Nichols charged out of the break and capitalized when Kolowrat was sent to the box for tripping. Curtis Carlson chipped one past Cal Wilcox to level the playing field with 17:30 left in the third period. 

The tied game remained for just 3:41 until Gavin O'Neill lit the lamp, putting away a feed from John Garrity to put the blue-and-gold back in front, 4-3. 

Suffolk maintained that margin the rest of the way. Nichols tried to equalize matters when it yanked Matt Efros from between the pipes with 59 seconds remaining on the clock. Clark had other things in mind though. The sophomore intercepted a cross ice pass, skated to a safe distance and scored on the empty net to turn it into a 5-3 Suffolk score at the with just 42 seconds left to play.  

After Efros returned to his post, time ticked down and Suffolk celebrated its season-opening victory.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• Wilcox collected 21 saves in the victory. 
• Efros made 26 stops in the setback.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Kolowrat put away three goals to lead Suffolk's charge. 
• Clark also had three points behind one marker and two assists. 
• Roche produced a pair of assists. 
• O'Neil scored once with Garrity, Nugent and Donnelly all dishing out one helper. 
• Suffolk outshot Nichols, 31-24, while the Bison won the face-off dot battle, 42-34.  

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams improved to 11-10-1 in season openers since 1999. 
• Suffolk won its 10th straight season opener. 
• The blue-and-gold lifted the lid on its schedule as the home team for the first time since 2017-18. 
• The Rams moved to 7-5-0 in season debuts at home since 1999. 
• Suffolk met Nichols in its season opener for the fifth time, first since pulling the curtain back on the 2008-09 campaign. 
• The Rams are now 4-1 when playing the Bison in game one of the year. 
• Suffolk has outscored Nichols, 27-14, in the season debut. 
• Kolowrat was the first Ram to net a hat trick since Justin Selep '16 did so Jan. 9, 2016 at Franklin Pierce. 
• The three-goal effort is a personal-best for Kolowrat in goals and points. 
• O'Neill produced his first collegiate goal. 
• Nugent dished out the first assist of his career. 
• Four Rams matched career-highs: Clark (pts, goals & assists), Roche (points & assists), Donnelly (assists), and Garrity (assists). 

POST-GAME PIC
  

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
Suffolk Athletics will continue to release its winter sports schedule on a week-by-week basis. Fans are encouraged to check GoSuffolkRams.com every week on Tuesday afternoons when the next batch of games will be unveiled.